The US Navy Battleship List 17 Sep 1895 / 15 Feb 1898 (second class battleship) Sunk by explosion 15 Feb 1898; Floated and scuttled at sea 16 Mar 1912. 15 Aug 1895 / 1 Feb 1911 (Considered the first U.S. Navy battleship) Sunk as target 22 Mar 1911; struck 11 Oct 1911. USS Indiana (BB 1) 20 Nov 1895 / 29 Dec 1903 Recommissioned at New York Navy Yard 9 Jan 1906, decommissioned at Philadelphia 23 May 1914. Recommissioned a second time 24 May 1917, at Philadelphia 31 January 1919. Used as aerial bomb target; hulk sold as scrap 19 Mar 1924.

USS Massachusetts (BB 2) 10 Jun 1896 / 23 May 1914 Recommissioned 9 Jun 1917 at Philadelphia, decommissioned again 31 Mar 1919. Used as gunnery target; hulk given to Florida 15 Nov 1956. USS Oregon (BB 3) 15 Jul 1896 / 27 Apr 1906 Recommissioned 29 Aug 1911, decommissioned 12 Jun 1919. Commissioned again 24 Aug 1919 and finally decommissioned 4 Oct 1919. Loaned to Oregon as museum 25 Jun 1925; Returned to Navy for WW II; sold for scrap 15 Nov 1956. USS Iowa (BB 4) 16 Jun 1897 / 30 Jun 1903 Recommissioned 23 Dec 1903, decommissioned at Philadelphia 23 Jul 1908.

Recommissioned 2 May 1910, decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 27 May 1914. Recommissioned 23 Apr 1917, decommissioned for the final time 31 Mar 1919. Became first radio-controlled target; sunk 23 Mar 1923 as target in Panama Bay. USS Kearsarge (BB 5) 20 Feb 1900 / 4 Sep 1909 Recommissioned 23 Jun 1915, decommissioned 10 May 1920. Was made a crane ship 5 Aug 1920; sold for scrap 9 Aug 1955. USS Kentucky (BB 6) 15 May 1900 / 28 Aug 1909 Recommissioned 4 Jun 1912, decommissioned 31 May 1913. Recommissioned at Philadelphia 23 Jun 1915, decommissioned 29 May 1920.

Sold to Dravo Construction Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., for scrapping 23 Jan 1924. USS Illinois (BB 7) 15 Sep 1900 / 4 Aug 1909 Recommissioned 2 Nov 1912, decommissioned 15 May 1920. Loaned to N.Y. 23 Oct 1921 for naval militia; sold to Bethlehem Steel Co., Baltimore, Md., 18 May 1956, for scrap. USS Alabama (BB 8) 16 Oct 1900 / 17 Aug 1909 Recommissioned 17 Apr 1912, decommissioned 7 May 1920. Transferred to War Dept. 15 Sep 1921 for use as target. Sunk in shallow water 27 Sep; 19 Mar 1924, hulk sold as scrap.

USS Wisconsin (BB 9) 4 Feb 1901 / 15 Nov 1906 Recommissioned 1 Apr 1908, decommissioned 15 May 1920. Sold for scrap IAW Washington Treaty 26 Jan 1922. USS Maine (BB 10) 29 Dec 1902 / 31 Aug 1909 Recommissioned 15 Jun 1911, decommissioned 15 May 1920. Sold to J.G. Hitner & W.F. Cutler of Philadelphia 23 January 1922; scrapped IAW Washington Treaty. USS Missouri (BB 11) 12 Jan 1903 / 9 Sep 1912 Recommissioned 16 Mar 1914, decommissioned 8 Sep 1919. Sold to J.G. Hitner & W.F. Cutler of Philadelphia 26 January 1922; scrapped IAW Washington Treaty.

4 Oct 1904 / 31 May 1922 Sold for scrap 24 Mar 1923. 7 May 1906 / 13 Aug 1920 Transferred to Army; sunk by bombing off Diamond Shoals, N.C., 5 Sep 1923. 1 Jul 1907 / 2 Jul 1920 Scrapped 30 Nov. 1923 IAW Washington Treaty. 24 Sep 1906 / 15 Jul 1920 Scrapped 1 Nov. 1923 IAW Washington Treaty. 12 May 1906 / 6 Aug 1920 Transferred to Army; sunk by bombing off Diamond Shoals, N.C., 5 Sep 1923. 19 Feb 1906 / 30 Jun 1920 Scrapped 1 Nov. 1923 IAW Washington Treaty. 29 Sep 1906 / 1 Mar 1923 Scrapped 1 Nov. 1923 IAW Washington Treaty.

2 Jun 1906 / 20 Oct 1920 Scrapped 1 Nov. 1923 IAW Washington Treaty. 4 Mar 1907 / 30 Jun 1920 Scrapped 30 Nov. 1923 IAW Washington Treaty. 18 Apr 1907 / 16 Dec 1921 Sold for scrap IAW Washington Treaty. 9 Mar 1907 / 1 Dec 1921 Dismantled at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard IAW Washington Treaty and sold for scrap 23 Jan 1924. USS Mississippi (BB 23) 1 Feb 1908 / 21 Jul 1914 Transferred to Greece. Served as Lemnos until sunk by German aircraft in Salamis harbor April 1941. USS Idaho (BB 24) 1 Apr 1908 / 30 Jul 1914 Transferred to Greece. Served as Kilkis until sunk by German aircraft in Salamis harbor April 1941.

19 Mar 1908 / 21 May 1921 Sold for scrapping 1 Nov. 1923 IAW Washington Treaty. 1 Mar 1910 / 15 dec 1921 Sold for scrap 24 Apr 1924 IAW Washington Treaty. 4 Jan 1910 / 11 Feb 1922 Scrapped by the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 1924 IAW Washington Treaty. 4 Apr 1910 / 10 Nov 1923 Sold for scrap 5 Feb 1924 IAW Washington Treaty. 11 Apr 1910 / 2 Nov 1923 Sold for scrap 16 Mar 1931. 15 Sep 1911 / 16 Feb 1931 Scrapped under terms of London Naval Treaty of 1930. USS Utah (BB 31) 31 Aug 1911 / 31 Oct 1925 Recommissioned 1 Dec 1925, decommissioned 1 Jul 1931.

Recommissioned again 1 Apr 1932, decommissioned 5 Sep 1944. Utah was sunk at Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941. Her partially submerged hulk remains at Pearl Harbor. 25 Sep 1912 / 1 Aug 1947 Sold to Lipsett, Inc., New York, for scrapping 30 Oct 1947. USS Arkansas (BB 33) 17 Sep 1912 / 29 Jul 1946 Arkansas was sunk as a target in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll on 25 Jul 1946. USS New York (BB 34) 15 Apr 1914 / 29 Aug 1946 New York was a target in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll on 1 and 25 Jul 1946. She survived those blasts but was sunk as a target 40 miles off Pearl Harbor 8 Jul 1948.

USS Texas (BB 35) 12 Mar 1914 / 21 Apr 1948 Texas was turned over to the state of Texas to serve as a permanent memorial at San Jacinto State Park in 1948. USS Nevada (BB 36) 11 Mar 1916 / 21 Apr 1948 Nevada was a target in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll on 1 and 25 Jul 1946. She survived those blasts but was sunk as a target 40 miles off Pearl Harbor 8 Jul 1948. USS Oklahoma (BB 37) 2 May 1916 / 1 Sep 1944 Oklahoma was sunk at Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941. Raised, she entered drydock 28 Dec 1943. Stripped of guns and superstructure, she was sold 5 Dec 1946 to Moore Drydock Co., but sank 17 May 1947 540 miles from Pearl on her way to San Francisco.

USS Pennsylvania (BB 38) 12 Jun 1916 / 29 Aug 1946 Pennsylvania was a target in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll on 1 and 25 Jul 1946. She survived those blasts but was sunk off Kwajalein 19 Feb 1948. USS Arizona (BB 39) 17 Oct 1916 / -- Arizona was destroyed at her berth in the attack on Pearl Harbor 7 Dec 1941. She was stricken from the Naval Register on 1 Dec 1942. The Arizona Memorial was dedicated 30 May 1962. 20 May 1918 / 19 Jul 1946 Sold for scrapping 13 Oct 1947 to Lipsett, Inc., New York. 18 Dec 1917 / 17 Dec 1956 Sold for scrapping 28 Nov 1956 to Bethlehem Steel Co.

24 Mar 1919 / 3 Jul 1946 Sold for scrapping 24 Nov 1947 to Lipsett, Inc., New York. 3 Jun 1920 / 14 Feb 1947 Sold for scrapping 10 Jul 1959 to Bethlehem Steel Co. 10 Aug 1921 / 14 Feb 1947 Sold for scrapping 10 Jul 1959. 30 Aug 1923 / 7 Jan 1947 Sold for scrapping 23 Jul 1959. 21 Jul 1921 / 3 Apr 1947 Sold for scrapping 8 Jul 1959 to Learner Co., Oakland, Ca. Washington (BB 47) ---- Washington was never commissioned due to the signing of the Washington Treaty for the Limitations of Naval Armaments. The ship was used as a target and sunk 25 Nov 1924.

1 Dec 1923 / 9 Jan 1947 Sold for scrap 24 Aug 1959 to Union Minerals and Alloys Corp., New York. South Dakota (BB 49) ---- South Dakota was never commissioned because of the Washington Treaty for the Limitations of Naval Armaments. The hull was sold for scrap 25 Oct 1923. Indiana (BB 50) Indiana was never built because of the Washington Treaty for the Limitations of Naval Armaments. Montana (BB 51) ---- Montana was never completed because of the Washington Treaty for the Limitations of Naval Armaments. The hull was sold for scrap 25 Oct 1923. North Carolina (BB 52) ---- Not completed because of the Washington Treaty for the Limitations of Naval Armaments. The hull was sold for scrap 25 Oct 1923. Iowa (BB 53) ---- Not completed because of the Washington Treaty for the Limitations of Naval Armaments. The hull was sold for scrap 8 Nov 1923.

Massachusetts (BB 54) ---- Not completed because of the Washington Treaty for the Limitations of Naval Armaments. The hull was sold for scrap 8 Nov 1923 to Steel Scrap Co. USS North Carolina (BB 55) 9 Apr 1941 / 27 Jun 1947 Transferred to the state of North Carolina 6 Sep 1961. Dedicated as memorial 29 Apr 1962 at Wilmington, N.C. 15 May 1941 / 27 Jun 1947 Sold for scrap 24 May 1961 to Lipsett Div., Luria Bros. & Co. 20 Mar 1942 / 31 Jan 1947 Sold for scrap 25 Oct 1962 to Lipsett Div., Luria Bros. & Co. 30 Apr 1942 / 11 Sep 1947 Sold for scrap 1 Jun 1962.

USS Massachusetts (BB 59) 12 May 1942 / 27 Mar 1947 Transferred to the Massachusetts Memorial Committee 8 Jun 1965 and preserved as a memorial 14 Aug 1965. 16 Aug 1942 / 9 Jan 1947 Transferred to the state of Alabama 16 Jun 1964 for use as a memorial. USS Iowa (BB 61) 22 Feb 1943 / 24 Mar 1949 Recommissioned 25 Aug 1951, decommissioned again 24 Feb 1958. Recommissioned again 28 Apr 1984, decommissioned last time 26 Oct 1990. Berthed in Suisan Bay, San Francisco, Calif., 21 April 2001.

USS New Jersey (BB 62) 23 May 1943 / 30 Jun 1948 Recommissioned at Bayonne 21 Nov 1950, decommissioned again 21 Aug 1957. Recommissioned at Philadelphia 6 Apr 1968, decommissioned again 17 Dec 1969. Recommissioned at Long Beach, Calif., 28 Dec 1982, decommissioned last time 8 Feb 1991. Towed 12 Sept. 1999 by the tug Sea Victory from Bremerton to Philadelphia, arriving 11 Nov. On 20 Jan. 2000, SECNAV announced donation to Home Port Alliance of Camden, N.J., for use as a museum. USS Missouri (BB 63) 11 Jun 1944 / 26 Feb 1955 Recommissioned in San Francisco 10 May 1986, decommissioned again 31 Mar 1992.

Located 1,000 yards from the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Missouri was opened as a museum 29 Jan. 1999. USS Wisconsin (BB 64) 16 Apr 1944 / 1 Jul 1948 Recommissioned 3 Mar 1951, decommissioned again at Bayonne on 8 Mar 1958. Recommissioned again on 22 Oct 1988, decommissioned for the final time on 30 Sep 1991. Moored at the National Maritime Center, Norfolk, Va., 7 Dec. 2000, the centerpiece of a four-part naval history exhibit. Wisconsin opened to the public on 16 Apr 2001. USS Battleship Missouri Memorial - Pearl Harbor (Oahu Travel Guide) | Aloha Hawaii Iolani Palace USS Battleship Missouri Memorial Once a wartime juggernaut, the USS Battleship Missouri now serves as an interactive museum and memorial at Pearl Harbor, alongside other historic attractions such as the USS Arizona Memorial and USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park.

The USS Missouri battleship memorial History Known as the “Mighty Mo,” the Missouri is the last of four Iowa-class battleships that were built during World War II. Weighing in at 48,000 tons and more than 885 feet in length (from bow to stern), the Missouri launched out of New York Naval Shipyard on January 29, 1944 and was commissioned on June 11 of that same year. It went on to become one of the U.S. military’s most decorated ships, with three battle stars for World War II service and another five for its service during the Korean War. USS Missouri at Anchor, 24 August 1944 When Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945, officially marking the end of World War II, the signing took place aboard the Missouri. “The day was overcast,” recalled Frank Hartwell, who served as a quartermaster in the ship’s wartime fleet. “Then a destroyer came up with 11 Japanese dignitaries. General MacArthur signed for all the Allies, and Admiral Nimitz signed for the U.S.

The sky cleared right after the surrender was signed.” The Museum The Missouri was decommissioned for the final time on March 31, 1992, after serving with distinction during the Gulf War. On May 4, 1998, the ship was officially transferred to the USS Missouri Memorial Association in Honolulu. The USS Battleship Missouri Memorial opened to the public on January 29, 1999. In its first year, “Mighty Mo” welcomed more than 400,000 visitors. USS Missouri battleship memorial museum A number of guided tours are available at the Memorial. The basic tour is a one-hour introduction to the ship’s layout, systems and weapons. Included is a narrative of the ship’s history as well as access its Combat Engagement Center. Another tour includes exclusive newsreel footage of the surrender ceremony in Japan. Guests on this tour also get to enjoy light refreshments in the Captain’s Cabin and visits to the Combat Engagement Center and the Flag Bridge, where Admiral Frederick Halsey stood during the final days of World War II.

The Memorial’s stated mission is to “create and maintain a fitting memorial to the people and historic events reflecting our nation’s legacy of duty, honor, strength, resolve and sacrifice.” The USS Battleship Missouri Memorial is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Discounted admission rates are available for members of the military. Video – Pearl Harbor Access From Waikiki, take the H1 freeway and follow the “Pearl Harbor” overhead highway signs to the airport. DO NOT TAKE THE “NAVAL BASE” EXIT. Take the exit labeled “Arizona Memorial / Stadium”, exit #15A. Follow the brown “Pearl Harbor Historic Sites” roadside signs. The brown signs will lead you directly to the USS Arizona Memorial visitors center and the adjacent USS Bowfin Submarine Museum. The Battleship Missouri Memorial ticket booth and shuttle station are located at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum, just a short walk from theUSS Arizona Memorial visitors center. © 1997-2011 Aloha from Hawaii 8/19/1999 • American History World War II ended on the deck of the USS Missouri.

Five years later the Korean War broke out–and the “Mighty Mo” was the only U.S. battleship ready to fight. Life was exciting for 23-year-old Ensign Lee Royal in the summer of 1950. The tall, slim Texan had recently graduated from the United States Naval Academy and reported for duty on board the most famous warship in the world, the USS Missouri. Royal was wearing the gold bars of a commissioned officer, a step up from the previous year when he had served on the same ship as a midshipman on a training cruise. The Missouri had visited England during that cruise, and Royal and two classmates had been brash enough to go to Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s country home. They wanted to shake the hand of the former British prime minister. Churchill had been even more obliging than that, taking the three young midshipmen on a tour of the grounds and then presenting them with books, cigars, and wine. An amazed bodyguard told them privately that the British statesman had been much more hospitable to them than to many of his famous visitors. The guard mentioned that Churchill was fond of navy men, Americans, and young people.

The midshipmen belonged to all three categories. By 1950, the Missouri was the U.S. Navy’s only active battleship–just a decade after the navy had considered battleships to be its foremost fighting ships. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, however, had dramatically changed the situation. Soon aircraft carriers and submarines became the navy’s primary offensive weapons, while battleships were relegated to a secondary role. They had been designed to fight gun duels against large surface vessels, but those encounters rarely occurred in World War II. The United States entered the war with a number of old, slow battleships commissioned between 1912 and 1923, which were primarily used for shore bombardment and to support amphibious landings. Only the navy’s 10 new battleships, commissioned between 1941 and 1944, were fast enough to travel in aircraft carrier task groups and provide antiaircraft protection. The USS Missouri was the last battleship the navy completed. Commissioned in June 1944, she reached the Western Pacific war zone in early 1945.

The ship served with carrier forces in support of landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and near the end of the war, the Missouri’s 16-inch guns bombarded industrial targets in Japan itself. “Mighty Mo” became world-famous as the site of the Japanese surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, bringing World War II to an end. The Missouri and dozens of other U.S. warships arrived home to a triumphant welcome, but the nation demobilized rapidly once the hostilities ceased. At the end of the war, the navy had 23 battleships in commission but soon began withdrawing them from active service–mothballing the newest ones and scrapping the oldest. The return to peacetime defense budgets emphasized the fact that the battleships’ period of primacy was over. By the summer of 1950, the Missouri had been downgraded from a full-fledged warship to a training vessel with a reduced crew. Economy-minded Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson would have preferred to decommission the Missouri entirely to save money, but President Harry S. Truman wouldn’t allow it. The president was particularly fond of the ship.

Not only was she named for his home state, but his daughter Margaret had christened her. When Lee Royal returned to the Missouri the year after his visit with Churchill, the ship was making another training cruise, but this time budget considerations limited her itinerary to the western Atlantic Ocean. Still, Royal found it an enjoyable experience, particularly when the battleship made a port visit to New York City in mid-August. One evening Royal and a date went to see a Broadway musical. When he returned to the ship at one in the morning the officer on the quarterdeck asked him, “Did you have a good time?” The ensign replied that he had. “Good,” the officer said, “because that’s the last one you’re going to have for some time.” The Missouri was going back to war. The korean war had begun a month and a half earlier, on June 25, 1950. As Communist North Korea army units advanced into South Korea, President Truman committed American troops to the hostilities. Because the Missouri possessed the only active 16-inch guns in the fleet–an important factor in the planning of amphibious assaults–she received orders to report for duty half a world away.

Five years earlier, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur had accepted the Japanese surrender on the captain’s veranda deck of the Missouri. Now the general was planning an invasion at the port of Inchon, behind North Korean lines. He scheduled the action for mid-September and wanted the Missouri’s big guns to stop North Korean traffic on roads leading into the Inchon-Seoul area. The Missouri’s crew had much to do. The ship traveled first to her home port of Norfolk, Virginia, where she spent four days and nights taking on supplies of food, fuel, and ammunition. The battleship’s peacetime crew increased to a fighting complement of 114 officers and 2,070 enlisted men. On Saturday morning, August 19, 1950, the 887-foot-long warship cruised through Hampton Roads and Thimble Shoal Channel and into the Atlantic Ocean. The same routine trip had been a disaster seven months earlier. On January 17, while leaving for a training cruise to Cuba, the Missouri had run aground in the same port, a huge embarrassment for the navy. Captain William D. Brown was relieved of command shortly after that.

The Missouri’s role in the Inchon mission was considered so important that she went to sea in the face of threatening weather. That night newly appointed Captain Irving Duke and his crew paid heavily as they encountered a hurricane off North Carolina. Under normal conditions the Missouri was rock steady, but these waters were anything but normal. The wind and waves sent two helicopters over the side and caused serious damage elsewhere. Trying to outflank the storm had been a calculated risk, and the ship suffered for it. The battleship passed through the Panama Canal and into the Pacific Ocean and proceeded to Pearl Harbor for repairs and installation of antiaircraft guns that had been removed after World War II. She then continued westward–through the Philippine archipelago and toward Japan. Nature, though, didn’t respect the navy’s scheduling. Typhoon Kezia lay in the ship’s path. This time, Captain Duke took a more deliberate approach, following a course that diminished the risk of storms. The ship came through unscathed, but the delays from the repair period and the zigzag course kept the ship from reaching Korea in time for the Inchon invasion. Up until this point the fighting in Korea had not been going well for the ill-prepared United Nations forces.

The North Koreans had pushed steadily southward, driving the U.N. troops into the Pusan perimeter at the southern end of the Korean peninsula. MacArthur’s invasion at Inchon, however, proved to be a brilliant success even without the Missouri’s firepower. When it became apparent that the battleship could not make it to Inchon in time for the invasion, which had to be precisely timed to take advantage of the tides, the Missouri received orders to bombard North Korean transportation facilities and ground troops along the way. When the ship finally reached Inchon on September 21, MacArthur, an old soldier who was then 70, came aboard for a visit. Members of the ship’s Marine detachment scoffed at the theatrical general, whom some people scornfully referred to as “Dugout Doug.” Some of the men under MacArthur’s command during World War II had given him the nickname due to his absence during the siege of Bataan on the PhilippineIslands. When the five-star general arrived on board, he spoke with Captain Lawrence Kindred, commanding officer of the Missouri’s Marines. The general told him, “I have just returned from the far north, where your comrades-in-arms are in close combat with the enemy.

And I wish to report to you that there is not a finer group of fighting men in the world than the U.S. Marines.” The previously skeptical Kindred became an instant MacArthur fan. The following month another famous guest boarded the Missouri. Comedian Bob Hope presented a show for the benefit of crew members gathered on the fantail for a Navy Day celebration. Hope’s time-honored formula included both humor and an attractive actress, Marilyn Maxwell. The ground fighting improved for U.N. forces in the wake of the landings at Inchon. Later in the year, however, the situation turned around again as Chinese forces entered the war to help the North Koreans, and U.N. troops were once again pushed south. In action that became legendary in the annals of Marine Corps history, troops at frozen Chosin Reservoir fought a valiant rear-guard action. Shortly before Christmas, the Marines moved to an evacuation site in the port of Hungnam on the east coast, where the Missouri created a curtain of fire between the advancing enemy and the retreating allies.

Though the ship no longer performed the ship-against-ship missions for which she was designed, her guns proved an invaluable weapon for land war, with each 16-inch projectile capable of producing a crater some 30 feet in diameter. By 1951, the battleship had settled into a wartime routine that included bombarding enemy facilities on shore, supporting ground troops, and providing antiaircraft protection for carriers launching bombing strikes against North Korea. Periodically she would meet up with supply ships for replenishment at sea or travel to Sasebo, Japan, to take on ammunition and give the crew some free time ashore. Missouri’s first combat service in Korea ended in mid-March, six months after her arrival, and she began the long trip back to the United States. By this time the navy had begun pulling other World War II-era ships from mothballs for return to active duty. Among them was the Missouri’s sister ship, New Jersey, slated as her relief. The two ships crossed paths at the Panama Canal. The Wisconsin was recommissioned in March, and the Iowa would be recommissioned in August.

With all four ships of the Iowa class back in active service, the situation had changed dramatically from the previous August when Ensign Royal learned that his New York liberty had been the last good time he would see for a while. Now the Missouri became part of a regular rotation as the battleships alternated between midshipman training cruises and deployments to the 7th Fleet off Korea. The Missouri returned to Norfolk on April 27, more than eight months after her hurried departure for the war zone. Thousands of people turned out for the homecoming celebration. As the battleship headed toward her berth at the naval station’s pier seven, a biplane flew overhead, towing a long banner that read, “WELCOME HOME MIGHTY MO.” During the summers of 1951 and 1952 the Missouri resumed her role as a training ship, but in September 1952, the battleship returned for more Far East duty. Taking command for the Missouri’s second deployment to Korea was Captain Warner Edsall.

As the ship proceeded westward, Ensign Lawrence “Ace” Treadwell, a recent naval academy graduate and not long married, was standing on the Missouri’s bridge when he heard Captain Edsall remark, “It’s great to be back to sea.” Treadwell would have preferred to be home with his wife, but the captain realized he had one of the choicest commands in the navy, and he meant to enjoy it. By the autumn of 1952 the Korean War had settled down to a stalemate. North Korean and U.N. representatives met at Panmunjom to seek some sort of negotiated settlement. President Truman had ruled out taking the war north to China, but he was determined to hold onto territory in South Korea during the peace talks. So the Missouri continued her program of shore attacks. The battleship remained so far off shore during her bombardment missions that she was essentially invulnerable. One of the Missouri’s targets was the port of Wonsan, a transportation hub and industrial center on the east coast of North Korea.

On March 5 and March 10, 1953, North Korean gunners at Wonsan retaliated and succeeded in firing some shrapnel onto the battleship’s broad fantail. The range was long for Missouri’s less powerful 5-inch guns, but they were aimed toward Wonsan and pumped out 998 rounds, by far the most prolific day for the smaller guns during the deployment. As the Missouri had done two years previously, she made a number of visits to Japan for re-arming and so that the crew could enjoy liberty. One of those who went sightseeing was Chief Gunner’s Mate Jack McCarron, who had served on the Missouri for roughly five years–a long tour of duty for a navy man. On December 7, 1941, McCarron had been badly burned while manning a 5-inch antiaircraft gun on the battleship Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. McCarron had the distinction of serving on the two battleships that symbolized the beginning and the end of World War II in the Pacific.

The Missouri’s last bombardment mission of the Korean War came to an end on the morning of March 25, 1953. She fired at targets in the vicinity of Kojo, just south of Wonsan. Captain Edsall was on the Missouri’s bridge on the morning of March 26 as she steamed into port at Sasebo, Japan, the first stop on the long journey home. At 7:21 a.m., just after Edsall gave the helmsman an order, the captain grasped the arm of his executive officer, Commander Bob North, and collapsed on the deck. North directed the ship to her berth, as Edsall was pronounced dead of a heart attack. A new skipper, Captain Robert Brodie, Jr., soon came aboard to take command and shepherd the Missouri back to the United States. In 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower replaced Harry Truman as president of the United States, and during that summer the negotiators at Panmunjom completed armistice talks and ended the fighting. South Korea had maintained its independence, and the war had remained a limited one, although U.S.

casualties totaled about 137,000. The conflict did not end in a rousing and decisive victory like that of World War II, but the Missouri had made a significant contribution to the Korean War. She was decommissioned after the war, but in 1986 the modernized Missouri was recommissioned once more. During the Persian Gulf War five years later, the battleship again saw active service, when her guns and missiles were used against military targets in Iraq. In 1992, the Missouri was decommissioned for the second time. Four years later the navy donated the battleship to the Honolulu-based USS Missouri Memorial Association. The Missouri will never again see combat but will open as a memorial museum in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in January 1999, allowing visitors the opportunity to board America’s most celebrated battleship. Paul Stillwell, director of the history division of the U.S. Naval Institute in Annapolis, Maryland, is the author of Battleship Missouri: An Illustrated History and several other books.

The US Navy -- Battleship History A Short History Full-screen images are available by selecting the images in the text below Prior to New Year�s Day 1906, the Navy had what was then known as the Atlantic Station, which made up most of the United States Navy. On Jan. 1, 1906, the Navy�s Atlantic Fleet was established, consisting of: the Battleship Force, Cruiser Force, and the Destroyer Force. None of these forces, however, were organized in the manner of the type commands of later years. The most renowned operation of those early years was the formation of the "Great White Fleet," which departed Norfolk, Va., on Dec. 16, 1907, to become the first fleet of warships to circumnavigate the globe. They returned to President Theodore Roosevelt�s welcome on Feb. 22, 1909. Early in December of 1922, General Order 94 abolished the Atlantic Fleet, renaming it as the U.S. Fleet. The U.S. Fleet was organized into the Battle Fleet, the Scouting Fleet, the Control Fleet and the Fleet Base Force.

These four elements were defined as "the principal naval force of the United States." Eight years later, on Dec. 10, 1930, another reorganization was made when the U.S. Fleet�s subordinate fleets were renamed �forces� creating the Battle Force, U.S. Fleet; the Scouting Force, U.S. Fleet; and the Base Force, U.S. Fleet. Ships assigned to these forces were assigned on the basis of mission and not as to the type of ship involved. Also, the Navy subdivided into squadrons, with those units operating off the east coast of the United States coming within the Atlantic Squadron. This subdivision can be seen as the seeds of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet as we know it today. World War II began in Europe in 1939. The United States was trying to remain neutral, while protecting her shipping. It was in this atmosphere that the Atlantic Squadron was renamed on Nov. 1, 1940, to more accurately describe the mission given it by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Atlantic Squadron became the Patrol Force, U.S.

Fleet, which was further reorganized into type commands: Battleships, Patrol Force; Cruisers, Patrol Force; Destroyers, Patrol Force; and, Train, Patrol Force (the logistics arms).The Patrol Force organization was short lived. With war clouds darkening now on both the east and west horizons, the Patrol Force was reorganized into the Atlantic Fleet on Feb. 3, 1941. The first Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, was Admiral Ernest J. King, who set up the structure of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in a similar manner to that of today. Rolling Thunder Some say that the battleship began with USS Monitor, the famous ironclad whose battle with the CSS Virginia in Hampton Roads on Mar. 9, 1862, drew the attention of the world. Monitor had a centerline, rotating iron gun turret, armored sides and deck, and steam propulsion. She was ill-equipped for sailing on the high seas, however, and foundered off Cape Hatteras, N.C., in December 1862. Others may say, however, that the genesis of the battleship began with USS Michigan, a side wheel steamer commissioned on Sept.

29, 1844. Michigan was the Navy�s first iron-hulled warship and was built for the defense of Lake Erie. Whichever ship is considered to be the forerunner of the battleship, there were some developments which spurred the origin of the lethal leviathan of the sea. One was the writings of Capt. Alfred Thayer Mahan, USN, who published several books on naval strategy that became the bibles of many navies throughout the world. Capt. Mahan�s works pointed out the importance of having a capital ship for the control of the sea. The second event was the Russian-Japanese War of 1894-95. Here, the "battleship" was put to the test, and the results showed that the new ship class was supreme at sea. The United States commissioned her first battleship, USS Texas , on Apr. 15, 1895. This coal-burning ship, had an overall length of 309 feet and an extreme beam of 64 feet, displaced 6,315 tons, and had a complement of 30 officers and 362 enlisted men.

She carried two 12-inch and six 6-inch guns and was equipped with four 14-inch torpedo tubes. For protection she carried 12-inches of steel armor, and while not the titan of later years, for her era she was one of the most powerful ships in the world. Battleships began to grow by 1907. USS Kansas (BB 21) displaced twice the tonnage of Texas, was more heavily armed, and had 42 officers and 838 enlisted men. While Kansas was under construction, an event took place that touched off the greatest naval arms race in history. In 1905, King Edward VII of England christened a new ship designed by British Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher. This ship was unquestionably the most powerful afloat. Her name, HMS Dreadnought, was derived from "Fear God and dread nought." Few ships have captured the world�s imagination like Dreadnought. Her name became synonymous with "battleship." In late 1912, the United States commissioned its most heavily-armed battleship, USS Wyoming (BB 32).

Wyoming was 562 feet in overall length, with an extreme beam of 93 feet. She displaced 26,000 tons and carried 58 officers and more than 1,000 enlisted men. Her armor plate was a foot thick. Her main battery was a dozen 12-inch guns, backed by 21 5-inch guns and two 21-inch torpedo tubes. By the end of World War I, the U.S. Navy had grown in strength to being second only to Great Britain�s Navy. During the Washington Disarmament Conference of 1921, the U.S. agreed to dismantle part of the Navy, and seven out of nine battleships under construction were broken up. No new battleships were commissioned from 1923 to 1941. BB TyCom The first battleship Type Command (TyCom) was established on Nov. 1, 1940, with the formation of Battleships, Patrol Force, U.S. Fleet. With the Navy reorganization in February 1941, the TyCom became Battleships, U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

The opening of hostilities in Europe in September 1939 spurred the rebuilding of the Navy�s battleship forces. Two years later, on Dec. 7, 1941, eight of the Navy�s battleships were sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor. Six of these were subsequently repaired and returned to service. The nature of the war in the Pacific altered the battleship�s role forever. The Battle of Midway showed that it was no longer necessary for battlewagons to stand toe-to-toe and slug it out in the contest for supremacy at sea. But battleships performed a number of vital tasks during World War II: from escorting convoys to providing anti-air defense to providing necessary gunfire support to troops ashore. On Nov. 15, 1945, two months and a day after the Japanese announced they would accept the terms of surrender, the battleships were combined with the cruisers in a new TyCom, the Battleship-Cruiser Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. During this time many of the battleships were mothballed or sold as memorials to the various states whose names they carried.

Only a few of these majestic ships remained in service until 1948 when the last active battleship was redesignated a training ship and the Battleship-Cruiser Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, was renamed Cruiser Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. The battleships returned during the Korean Conflict (1950-1953) for use in shore bombardment. The Battleship-Cruiser Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet as a TyCom was resurrected on Oct. 15, 1952. With the Korean armistice and by 1957, the battleships began being decommissioned again. By Mar. 8, 1958, there were no active battleships and the type command reverted to Cruiser Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. A Final Hurrah USS New Jersey (BB 62) was brought back into service in 1968 and served as a gun platform off the coast of Vietnam. Her nine 16-inch guns could throw a 2,700-pound projectile more than 20 miles. The ship was again decommissioned in 1969, but was recommissioned in 1982.

She was modernized, receiving an installation of 16 Harpoon missiles, with a range of about 60 miles, and 32 Tomahawk missiles, with a range of about 500 miles. In May 1984, the United States Navy began recalling the remaining Iowa-class battleships for active duty, following modernization and updating. These weapons platforms were needed for an expanded 600-ship Navy to lead battle groups and help establish the U.S. naval presence around the globe. The 600-ship Navy was never realized and, instead, defense budgets continued to shrink. For this and other like reasons, USS Iowa (BB 61) and USS New Jersey (BB 62) were decommissioned for a final time by early 1991. The invasion of neighboring Kuwait by Iraqi dictator Sadam Hussein in February 1991 postponed the fate of USS Missouri (BB 63) and USS Wisconsin (BB 64). The big guns of the two battleships hammered at land targets in Kuwait in support of the Allied ground offensive. Iraq agreed to a cease fire agreement on Feb. 28, 1991.

But the cost of operating these ships, the labor-intensive manning, and the more modern, more powerful cruisers and destroyers of today's Navy led to their final decommissioning as well. The last battleship on active duty was USS Missouri (BB 63) decommissioned Mar. 31, 1992. In the 21st century, there are no battleships in the United States Navy. For a complete list of all the battleships that served with the Navy, see the " List of Battleships ." This list gives the ships' names, their dates of commissioning(s) and decommissioning(s), and the eventual fate each one met. There are also links from the ships' name to an up-to-date, illustrated history of each ship. Updated: 20 May 2000 Best Museum Ship Winners: 2016 10Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards Battleship Missouri Honolulu Commissioned in 1944, he USS Missouri had an astounding career over five decades and three wars – World War II, the Korean War, and Desert Storm. Affectionately nicknamed the “ Mighty Mo ,” she saw her share of protection and peacekeeping missions.

Located a mere ship’s length from the USS Arizona Memorial, the Mighty Mo completes a historical visitor experience that begins with the “day of infamy” and sinking of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and ends with Japan’s formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. USS Lexington Corpus Christi, Texas Visitors to Corpus Christi, Texas can tour the USS Lexington, nicknamed “The Blue Ghost” by the Japanese propagandist Tokyo Rose because she never wore the typical camouflage paint of all the other U.S. aircraft carriers. Eleven decks and 100,000 square feet of the ship are open to visitors through five self-guided tour routes. Guided hard hat tours take visitors further into the ship. Photo courtesy of Thinkstock USS Massachusetts, Joseph Kennedy, Jr. & Lionfish Fall River, Mass. Visitors to aptly named Battleship Cove in Fall River, Mass. can tour three different museum ships on the same ticket: battleship USS Massachusetts, destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. and the submarine USS Lionfish.

Battleship Cove is the world’s largest collection of historic naval ships, making it a great place for a sweeping look at U.S. naval history. Battleship New Jersey Camden, N.J. In Camden, N.J., just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia , sits our nation's largest and most decorated battleship, the USS New Jersey . Fully-restored, this battleship-turned-museum welcomes visitors of all ages to climb ladders, crawl through passageways and experience things just as the crew did when it was operational. USS Yorktown & USS Laffey Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Just across the bridge from downtown Charleston , Patriots Point preserves naval history in its centerpiece: a World War II aircraft carrier named the USS Yorktown. Thirteen of its decks are open to visitors, as is the USS Laffey, the only surviving U.S. World War II destroyer that saw action in the Atlantic. Battleship North Carolina Wilmington, N.C. The first of ten fast U.S. battleships that saw service in World War II, the USS North Carolina was decommissioned in 1947 and was narrowly saved from scrappers in 1960.

Today she sits anchored in the Cape Fear River near Wilmington, N.C., where visitors can walk her decks and learn the stories of the crew who served on board. Battleship Texas La Porte, Texas The USS Texas was the last of the battleships patterned after HMS Dreadnought to participate in World Wars I and II, and at the time, she was considered the most powerful warship afloat. The battleship became the first battleship memorial museum in the nation in 1948. The ship is part of the San Jacinto Battle Monument and Museum in Houston . Battleship USS Iowa Los Angeles USS Iowa began her service with an unsuccessful mission to hunt down the German Battleship Tirpitz in 1942 before welcoming aboard President Roosevelt for a trip to Casablanca for the Teheran Conference. Permanently decommissioned in 1990, the ship opened as a museum in the Port of Los Angeles in 2012, where visitors tour the only battleship museum on the West Coast. USS Midway San Diego The aircraft carrier USS Midway , which served from 1945-1992, offers a fascinating glimpse into life aboard a giant ship.

Visitors can take the self-guided audio tour, then check out some two dozen aircraft on the flight deck and ride a flight simulator. Docents, some of whom served on the ship while it was active, are on board every day to answer questions and can occasionally be persuaded to relate a funny or interesting story or two. The Official Pearl Harbor Tours and Activities Site - Hawaii No products in the cart. Welcome Pearl Harbor Tours is proud to feature a number of exciting historic tours to the site of the United States entrance into World War II. Pearl Harbor Tours are designed for your convenience and to fit your schedule. All of our tours take you to Pearl Harbor’s Visitor Center and the USS Arizona Memorial for a time of reflection and remembrance. The tragic attacks of December 7, 1941 shook the island of Oahu, and the United States, forever. The lives lost, and that tragic day are things that we want to remember and honor. Tour Pearl Harbor In the massive attack on Pearl Harbor, one of the ships that sank was the USS Arizona. Today, you have the opportunity to stand above the wreckage of that ship when you visit Pearl Harbor.

Visit the monument to the men who were killed during the ambush and experience the somber peace of a historic battle site. At Pearl Harbor, you can visit the spot where the US involvement in WWII began, and where it ended. Tour the Battleship Missouri, where the Japanese surrender and ended the war. Tours include round-trip transportation and can be booked every day. Pearl Harbor is located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Oahu translates to “the gathering place,” and with 1.42 million residents, it’s easy to see why. Oahu is a city on an island with the perfect mix of island living and the attractions of a city. Touring other Hawaiian islands is a breeze with our airfare included tours. Highlight Tours Pearl Harbor Tours Relax and be confident in your booking, we’ve got you covered. All your information is encrypted and secure, and we will never sell or share your personal information with anyone outside of our company. If your plans change for any reason, notify us 48 hours in advance and you’ll receive a full refund for tours (excluding inter-island tours with airfare).

No cancellation penalties (when canceled at least 48 hours prior to tour) No service fees Pearl Harbor News and Events Remembering Pearl Harbor, 75 years later CBSNews

Question: Name the last battleship commissioned by the USA, it is now a museum ship in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii?
Answer: USS Missouri